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The admission that Social Services Ministry workers are leaving children in hotels is no surprise. It is a failure in policy, but it shows the complexity and number of children that the department is dealing with today. Children's Advocate Bob Pringle reports that Saskatchewan's foster care system has systemic problems, overcrowding and poor case handling. He notes that rules are in place, but without proper supervision, these were not followed. The foster system is short by 190 care homes, something the province has made little progress on.
Why are children in foster care? According to national studies, almost 70 per cent of the kids identify fighting, physical abuse, psychological abuse, parental drug and/or alcohol-related issues and sexual abuse as the major reasons for needing help. In Saskatchewan, the main reason children are taken into care is neglect, which is another sad legacy from residential schools.
If they are lucky, the children in foster care find a good fit with a great home. If they aren't, many bounce around with no roots and connections until they find themselves as teenagers in the shelter system or in jail.
I have heard and read many stories of child abuse in foster care. Then we wonder why people struggle to live – abused by family and then by those whose duty is to protect them.
By the time some children are out of foster care, they have so many problems that other facilities can't handle them. I have long listened to advocates who tell me that shelters and youth homes should turn away no one, no matter what the issue. The problem is that many facilities are designed for a previous era, and aren't funded to have the staff or expertise to handle violent youth or adults.
Many kids eventually end up either in a youth correctional facility or in a provincial jail, and then in federal prisons for much of their lives. There are some who say, "Well, that will straighten them up." It rarely does. Not only do you have a victim of the crime who has been hurt, but prisons are an extremely expensive way to house and help offenders, even if there's any help to be obtained.
Social services spending has forever been political. It is always painted as a failure of the government to provide jobs, training and whatever else. But sometimes it isn't a failure of government; it is government being responsible, especially with youth.
To help wounded youth takes time, creativity and a lot of money. One of the more successful organizations to do it in Canada is called Eva's Initiatives in Toronto. It incorporates education, teaching youth how to live alone, and handson trades training with local unions so they gain experience and make some connections to get a good job. The youth live in miniature townhouses with shared common spaces that need to maintained. That teaches them the responsibilities that come with living in a community, including how to resolve conflicts without violence and recover from mistakes.
Such programs have had tremendous success, but are costly. When you simply look at the cost of a hotel room or shelter, they win every time. Eventually the problem becomes another department's cost. Police, corrections, and even health may have the same taxpayer, but are different budgets. Statistically, the cheaper option becomes more expensive and less likely to turn around a life.
Saskatchewan needs to invest now in our youth to solve these issues. Children in foster care are there for a reason. To help overcome the problems that brought them there, they need the best in care, not overcrowded homes and under-resourced case management. There are issues that are bigger than political partisanship. There are values that withstand the change of premiers, cabinet ministers and bureaucrats. One of them needs to be the commitment that vulnerable youth in Saskatchewan will be protected, helped and nurtured when they need our help. We shouldn't rely on last-resort solutions for youth, but provide the proper resources from the start.
If we make it a priority, there are creative solutions from all over the country, and local non-profit agencies that are more than capable of taking on any challenge. The cost of helping children will always be high because of their age and complexity of their problems, but the rewards are obvious to anyone who has benefited from a caring and safe environment.
Taxpayers, and more importantly, the affected youth, pay an unacceptable cost for our inaction.
Jordon Cooper
15 June 2015
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Cooper+Early+help+kids+care+crucial/11136896/story.html
